The Secret Christmas
by Jasper'sBaltimoreBabe
Summary: The Slytherin Prince and the Gryffindor Princess get together before Christmas. Dramione. Non-comp HBP. Oneshot.


__**A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! This is a little one-shot that I've been sitting on for a year, but I'm finally posting it! I got the idea from _Stay Here This Christmas_ by Push Play. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling own Harry Potter. I don't even own the computer I'm using...**

_Click, clack, click, clack, click, clack..._

Her footsteps echoed through the empty corridors, the midnight silence disturbed. She wasn't worried about being found by a teacher; she was a prefect, after all, and she was due to patrol this area that night. She was a bit concerned about Ron crossing her path, though- what would she say if he questioned her? What would he say if he knew where she was really going? But as the familiar unicorn tapestry appeared before her, all her worry was replaced with sudden excitement.

Doing a quick scan of the corridor to make sure she was alone, she thought, _I need the room where he is waiting._

Sure enough, a door appeared before her in the stone, and before she could move towards it, someone had already opened it.

"Hello, Granger," a voice drawled, grey eyes glinting in the dim torchlight.

"Malfoy." She smiled, taking in his lean form leaning against the doorway, arms crossed in his usual manner. He quickly took her hand and pulled her against him, both of them thinking that it had been too long since they were together.

"I've missed you," he murmured against her wavy hair.

"I've missed you, too, Draco," she replied, and his arms tightened around her waist. She breathed deeply, reveling in the scent of his cologne and a little hint of peppermint.

"C'mon, we better get inside before someone comes this way." He pulled away from her, but just enough to get her inside the doorway and close the door, sealing them off from the rest of the world.

His arm still snug around her waist, she gave a small gasp as she took in the beautiful decorations before her: the entire room was covered from top to bottom in red and green, with gold and silver boughs strung around the room. Holiday music was floating through the air from a gramophone sitting in the corner. A roaring fireplace was on the far side of the room, a plush couch in front of it, and the largest Christmas tree Hermione had ever seen (well, second only to the one at the Yule Ball) was standing just to the left of it, the firelight glittering off its many ornaments.

"Oh, Dray," she sighed. "This is beautiful."

"I had hoped you would like it," Draco said. "I wanted it to be perfect."

"It is." She pressed her lips against his cheek, and she felt him smile. However, she didn't realize it was a mischievous smirk, and she was quickly swept off her feet, giving a little squeal of surprise.

"Now, I don't think I've ever heard that sound before." His eyes sparkled with mischief, and Hermione gave his chest a little shove, more out of embarrassment than anger.

"Time for your present, milady," he said, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her bridal-style to the couch, where he gently sat her. She sat cross-legged, Draco taking the seat next to her, and from his dark robe he pulled out a little rectangular box. She smiled and took it, not sure what she find inside. When she opened the lid, her eyes widened: it was a gold ID bracelet. She carefully picked it up and examined it, finding her initials _HJG_ etched in the gold, written in the familiar hand of Draco Malfoy. A ruby and an emerald were sitting diagonally from her initials, one on each side.

"Draco..." Hermione was speechless.

"Don't say that it was too much. It wasn't," he told her.

"Thank you," she whispered. She leaned forward and hugged him, little teardrops pricking at her eyes.

"Let's put it on," he said, and he took the bracelet from her, fastening the clasp around her wrist. He held her hand as they both admired it in the firelight, the gold smoldering against her fair skin.

"All right. My turn," she said after a few seconds, and stole her hand away to take her present from her robes. She handed the Christmas-paper-wrapped rectangle to Draco. "I hope you like it."

"Mione, you could give me a flobberworm, and I'd still be happy," he chuckled. "It isn't a flobberworm, is it?" His tone turned to a playful seriousness.

She gave him a small shove. "Just open it!"

He was still grinning as he opened his present. He tore the paper away, revealing a picture frame. It was a sketch of the Slytherin crest and the Malfoy crest, artfully interwoven.

"Hermione, did you draw this?"

She nodded. "Yes, but that's not actually your gift." She took out her wand and tapped the frame once, the crests immediately disappearing into a photo: Snow flurries were falling, coating everything in a thin layer of white. The Shrieking Shack could be seen faintly in the background. Hermione was jumping onto Draco's back, her arms locked around his neck as his own moved back to grip her legs, making sure she didn't slip and fall. They were silently laughing, both brown and grey eyes shining with delight.

When Draco didn't say anything, Hermione began to worry. "Dray-?"

Her question was cut short by his lips, which caused her to give a gasp of surprise, but she quickly kissed him back, her fingers finding anchor in his white blonde hair.

He broke the kiss just long enough to whisper, "This is the best present I've ever gotten, Mione."

Hermione smiled and gave him a quick peck. "It only recognizes our wands, so you can have it sitting out wherever without worrying someone will find it."

"You're brilliant," he laughed. He set the picture aside and pulled him against her chest, leaning back so that she was reclining on him. "I know this sneaking around is hurting you. It's hurting me, too."

She was shocked that he actually admitted that, but their relationship had to be kept secret; she was the Gryffindor princess, and he was the Slytherin prince. The school would explode in never-ending gossip. But that meant that they had to avoid each other in the hallways so that they wouldn't have to insult each other like they have been for the past five years. It meant her asking Harry for the Marauder's Map when she was patrolling at night so she and Draco could have a stolen moment together without being seen. It meant having to use a Confundus Charm on Colin Creevey after he accidentally stumbled across them the month before in Hogsmeade and took their picture.

"We'll get through it," she told him, her head resting against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat filling her head. "Things will work out, in the end."

Draco made a noise somewhere between "I fully agree" and "Not bloody likely," but he stroked Hermione's hair softly, enjoying the last time they would be together till sometime after the holidays.

Her eyes drifted to the large Christmas trees, its little baubles shimmering magically in the light cast by the fire, and she realized there were small candles nestled among the branches, adding to its warm glow. It was then a thought struck her that caused her to laugh in surprise.

"What?" Draco asked, maneuvering them so that he could clearly see her face.

"I can't believe I haven't seen it before," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Would you mind sharing this mind-blowing revelation with me?"

Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "What colors are associated with Christmas?"

Draco looked at her like she had lost her brilliant mind. "Um, red and green? If you haven't noticed, we're currently surrounded by them..."

She rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh, a reaction that Draco secretly loved. "Red and gold, green and silver..."

Finally Draco understood what she was getting at. "No way."

"The holiday that celebrates peace and love combines the colors of the two most rivalrous Houses!"

He kissed her cheek. "Only you could have seen something that the rest of us missed, something _that_ painfully obvious."

She hugged him. "Merry Christmas, Draco."

"Merry Christmas, Mione."

It was the first day back from break, and Hermione really wasn't hungry. She was sitting in the Great Hall with her friends, but all she could think about was Draco, and how much she had missed him over break. She had spent Christmas with her family, but she and her parents had decided it would be easier for her to catch the train back if she was with her friends, and so she spent the remainder of her time off with Harry and the Weasleys at Grimmauld Place. She still couldn't shake her lovesickness, and it got so bad that Harry and even normally-oblivious Ron asked her if everything was okay. Like she could tell them!

"Hermione, aren't you going to eat?" Harry inquired, and Hermione snapped out of her reverie.

"Oh, um, I'm not really hungry," she said, but decided to take an apple with her as she headed off to potions, thinking that she would need something to sustain her mind.

As she was walking towards the exit of the Hall, the cause of her heartache came into view, causing both her heart and he stomach to do a somersault. Realizing that she couldn't run into his arms and kiss him like mad in front of the entire school, she braced herself for the indifferent look that was sure to be on his face. However, like always, he surprised her, and he walked towards her, stopping in front of her, effectively blocking her exit.

"Malfoy..." she warned quietly as the eyes of the school slowly turned towards them.

"Hermione, I can't stand this anymore." Yep, the whole school was definitely watching them now. "I love you."

As Hermione's thoughts shut down for the first time in her life, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, sweetly enough to show her how much he cared about her, but there was certainly a note of possessiveness in it, daring anyone to try to break them apart.

When he finally released her face, his expression anxious as he awaited her response, she whispered, "I love you, too, Draco."

"I have a picnic set up outside. Wanna get away for a bit?"

She took a quick glance back at the Gryffindor table: Ron looked faint, Harry's mouth was agape, and Ginny wanted to know _everything_. Not to mention the fact that the entire Great Hall was dead silent.

"That's an excellent idea," she told him, and his arm wove around her waist as they made their exit, the now deafening whispers of the students a mere buzz to the couple, for Hermione and Draco were too happy to be bothered with them.

**A/N: Dramione has always been my guilty pleasure. I really want to do a full-length story with them in the future...**

**Happy Holidays! Please review! ****3**


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